Act I
The three witches are hot, young, but twisted girls
dressed in school uniforms, shown first desecrating tombstones in a cemetery.
The first scene ends with “There to meet
with-” And the title comes on the screen.
Macbeth (Sam Worthington) sees the girls walking out of
the graveyard, which is interesting. He and Lady Macbeth are at the grave of
their son, Lady Macbeth on her knees, weeping. So clearly the child alluded to
in the play has a significant presence in this version. Then we see Macbeth
overseeing packages being delivered by a small boat. The drug deal goes sour,
and a deadly battle results. Macbeth and Banquo (Steve Bastoni) then follow
survivors to the club that functions as their lair, and capture Cawdor, the
traitor.
The film then goes to Scene ii, beginning with “Brave friend” at the place of the
battle, with Duncan now having arrived. But when Duncan asks, “Who comes here,” the answer is “The worthy Macduff,” rather than “The worthy Thane of Ross.” Duncan asks
him, “Whence cam’st thou?” Macduff
replies, “From Cawdor, where began the
dismal conflict.” In the play, Ross answers, “From Fife, great king.” Meanwhile Macbeth and Banquo partake of
some drug that’s on the table, so perhaps the witches’ appearance is
hallucination. Macbeth turns on the club’s smoke machine and lights, so those
elements are real. The witches are now wearing hot little gothic outfits. The
first line is “Fair is foul and foul is
fair,” from the first scene of the play, and Macbeth replies, “So foul and fair a day I have not seen.”
Of course, that connection is in the play, but the lines are separated by a
scene. Banquo is in the bathroom, vomiting, and so is not present. Still,
Macbeth asks about them not speaking to him, leading the witches to deliver
their prophecy regarding Banquo, but they do so to Macbeth, not to Banquo
himself. Macbeth then bumps into Banquo who still delivers his lines, “The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,/And
these are of them/Whither are they vanished?” But the lines have a
different tone, because Banquo hasn’t seen the witches, and so doesn’t believe they
were there at all. He has vomited up the drug that may still have possession of
Macbeth’s mind.
It’s odd that Macbeth himself caught the Thane of Cawdor,
because then his line to the witches about Cawdor still living doesn’t hold as
much surprise; after all, Macbeth can assume Duncan will kill him. Duncan
enters and speaks to Cawdor: “False
friend, no more you shall deceive our bosom interest” (lines from the
second scene). He then bestows the title and properties on Macbeth. This
reordering takes away from the audience foreknowledge of Macbeth’s new title
during the witches scene. Duncan then goes right to lines from Scene iv, when
he speaks directly to Macbeth.
Macbeth goes home to find Lady Macbeth (Victoria Hill)
asleep in the bath (itself a bit of foreshadowing). Then in bed, Macbeth says
some of the lines which in the play Lady Macbeth reads aloud from his letter.
Lady Macbeth’s first line then is “I fear
thy nature;/It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness/To catch the nearest
way.” But it’s said in an almost drowsy manner. And it is Macbeth who
suddenly is ambitious, not Lady Macbeth. The film then goes back to Scene iv
for the execution of Cawdor, who recites the Lord’s Prayer before being shot.
After pronouncing Malcolm next in line, Duncan goes to Macbeth and says, “Let me infold thee/And hold thee to my heart,”
lines which are delivered to Banquo in the play and further set Macbeth apart.
Macbeth’s aside is done as voice over.
The film then returns to Scene v for Macbeth’s line “My dearest love,/Duncan comes here tonight.”
Lady Macbeth has just done a line of cocaine, so perhaps her sudden ambition
comes from that. Lady Macbeth steps outside to await Duncan, and we see a swing
set, its single swing blowing eerily in the breeze, another reminder of the
Macbeth child. And it is then that we get Lady Macbeth’s famous speech (“Come, you spirits/That tend on mortal
thoughts, unsex me here”), here given as voice over. And right as that
speech ends, she and Duncan embrace. Malcolm is accompanied by a woman.
Donalbain is cut from this version.
The beginning of Macbeth’s speech (“If it were done, when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well/It were done quickly”)
is done as voice over, but then part of it is delivered to Lady Macbeth.
Because the characters are all involved in criminal activity, Macbeth’s lines “his virtues/Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongu’d
against/The deep damnation of his taking-off” don’t really carry any
weight. But Lady Macbeth’s line about her dashing “the brains out” carries a lot of weight in this version, and it’s
completely believable that that is the line that convinces Macbeth to do the
deed. It’s a powerful moment.
Act II
Fleance’s “The moon
is down” line is cut, and he goes right to “There’s slumber in heaven” (“husbandry
in heaven” in the play). Most of the dialogue between Macbeth and Banquo is
cut. The dagger Macbeth sees is a shadow on the wall, made by a light against a
plant. The dagger speech is done at first as voice over. But once he realizes
it’s a shadow, he smiles, and speaks the line “I see thee still” aloud. As in most film versions, we do see Duncan’s
murder. And, like in some other versions, Duncan wakes first.
The second scene begins with Macbeth’s “I have done the deed.” While Lady
Macbeth goes to place the daggers, there is a shot of Macduff with his wife at
their home. He looks in on their child too (they have just one child in this
version, which I think is a poor choice). And we see Lady Macbeth smearing the
men with blood. The Porter is cut. Macbeth answers the door over an intercom
system. We see Macbeth kill the two men. Lady Macbeth’s faint seems real in
this version, upon seeing the bloody corpse of Duncan, rather than as a ruse to
take the focus away from Macbeth. Macbeth’s “know it further” is aimed at Malcolm, which is enough to give
Malcolm pause. Because Donalbain is cut, Malcolm’s conversation is with his
female companion. After Macduff’s “He is already nam’d,” we see Macbeth being
hailed at a party in his honor.
(By the way, every once in a while we see a man with a
camera watching the action.)
Act III
Macbeth sees Banquo leave the party early with Fleance,
and runs out to let him know of the supper being held that night. The “Ride” in “Ride you with Fleance this afternoon” refers to dirt bikes, not
horses in this version. Macbeth’s lines about “a fruitless crown” are delivered to Lady Macbeth. And the film goes
right to Scene ii for her response: “What’s
to be done?” The scene where Macbeth speaks to the two murderers is cut.
And the third murderer is cut. Added is a scene where police go to Malcolm, but
there is no added dialogue.
Macbeth goes to speak to both murderers, not just one, at
the beginning of the banquet scene. Macbeth sits at the head of the table, so
cut is the bit where he is unable to find a seat. In the mirror he sees Banquo’s
ghost. Macbeth’s “gory locks” becomes
“gory head,” perhaps because Banquo’s
hair is so short. Banquo’s ghost physically attacks Macbeth, or so Macbeth
imagines.
Scene v is cut.
Act IV
The witches appear in Macbeth’s home, and it is possible
that it’s a dream. Macbeth enters earlier than he does in the play, as this is
perhaps his dream, so he hears the “Double,
double, toil and trouble” bit. The witches are naked (as they are in Polanski’s
film), and use Macbeth’s kitchen for their spell. And as one witch says the “pricking of my thumbs” line, Macbeth
enters, visible just over her shoulder. She smiles at him after the “wicked” line, which could indicate she
was teasingly calling him wicked, or that she enjoys his wickedness. The
witches each drink from the potion, then offer some to Macbeth. They then hide
from him, as a game. When he finds them, it becomes quite sexual, and it is
then they warn him about Macduff and so on. I love that the witches laugh when
Macbeth says, “Deny me this,/And an
eternal curse fall on you.” The vision in this version is of several men
saying “Hail Fleance,” rather than
the parade of kings.
Because the Macduffs have but one child, “babes” becomes “babe” in “to leave his wife,
to leave his babe.” Most of the dialogue between Lady Macduff and her son
is cut. The Messenger is also cut, and Ross is given his lines. Because of the
criminal element of this film’s world, Lady Macduff’s lines “where to do harm/Is often laudable, to do
good sometime/Accounted dangerous folly” have a more immediate context.
Macduff’s son is shot, but his line “He
has killed me, mother” is cut. When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth watch the news
report about the Macduff murders, Lady Macbeth looks with horror at Macbeth.
This is the moment where she begins to turn away and lose it in this version.
We also see Ross and Lennox seeing the same program.
Most of the dialogue between Malcolm and Macduff is cut,
including all of the stuff where Malcolm is testing Macduff. Also cut is the
part where Ross first says to Macduff that his wife and child are okay. Also
cut are all the lines where Macduff repeatedly asks about his wife and
children: “My children too?” and “All my pretty ones?/Did you say all?” It’s
a shame to lose those, for that is usually a powerful and emotional moment.
Act V
The fifth act begins with the Doctor arriving outside.
But it is daytime. The dialogue with the Gentlewoman is given in Lady Macbeth’s
bedroom, while Lady Macbeth is in bed. Lady Macbeth rises and goes into the
bathroom to wash her hands in the basin. Lady Macbeth speaks to the Doctor as
if he were Macbeth. Lady Macbeth howls as they try to get her back into bed,
until the Doctor gives her a sedative. Macbeth then enters (thus combining
Scenes i and iii), and the way he asks, “How
does your patient, Doctor” indicates he doesn’t really care. He’s so
removed from his previous life at this point.
There is then a scene of the men arming themselves, those
who will stand against Macbeth. Interestingly, Fleance stands among them. In
the play, he disappears. One problem is that you kind of despise Macduff when
he shoots two unarmed men who were abandoning their posts with Macbeth anyway.
You have to be on Macduff’s side at this point, and this scene makes that
impossible.
Lady Macbeth kills herself in the tub, and Macbeth rushes
to her after hearing the Gentlewoman’s scream instead of being told of her
death. The problem with that is that when he says “There would have been a time for such a word,” it doesn’t make much
sense. That line is in response to “The
queen, my lord, is dead,” which in this version is not spoken. The rest of
the speech is cut, which is unforgivable.
The Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane is a bit goofy in
this version. Macduff and company drive a Birnam Timber truck through Macbeth’s
gate. The battle is done with guns rather than swords, which is always a weaker
choice, and is done in slow motion without dialogue for a while, until Macbeth’s
“They have tied me to a stake; I cannot
fly.” The next line, “But bearlike I
must fight the course” is cut. However, that line refers to the previous
line, so if you keep one, you must keep the other. All of Young Siward’s lines
are cut, as are Siward’s. By the way, for this battle scene, Macbeth has donned
a kilt, a sudden nod to the play’s original setting. After Macbeth is stabbed,
he makes his way up to his bedroom, where Lady Macbeth is laid out on the bed
(someone moved her from the tub), and kisses her, dying next to her. Oddly,
Fleance goes into the bedroom and shoots the Gentlewoman, just going to show
that everyone in this version is horrible. Macbeth is not beheaded. All of the
lines after his death are cut. And as I feared, the “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” speech is done as voice over at
the end, which is stupid.
Special Features
The DVD contains a behind-the-scenes featurette, with an
interview with Geoffrey Wright, in which he talks about the cast. There is also
an interview with Sam Worthington, who talks about the project, about working
with Geoffrey Wright, and yes, about the kilt. And there is an interview with
Victoria Hill, who co-wrote the screenplay and played Lady Macbeth. She talks
about the character of Lady Macbeth, saying, “She’s in a state of tragic denial, feels responsible for the death of
her child, but can’t really continue living if she accepts that, so she’s
trying to find blame everywhere else.” Interesting. She also speaks briefly
about adapting the play.
The DVD also includes the film’s trailer.
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